Senate rejects Trump’s plan to lift ZTE export ban

The US Senate on Monday voted to block implementation of a settlement that would lift a sweeping ban on US technology being exported to ZTE. The export ban, which the Trump administration imposed on ZTE in April, amounts to a de facto death sentence for the Chinese company, which is heavily dependent on American-made chips and software.

The Trump administration recently signed a deal that would lift the export ban in exchange for a $1 billion fine and the firing of all of ZTE’s senior leadership. But a bipartisan group of senators believes the deal was too lenient.

“The death penalty is an appropriate punishment for their behavior,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in an interview with TheWall Street Journal last week.